explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2036: Edgelord

2018-08-22T10:20:31Z

162.158.165.22: Comment relating to the description's lack of discussion on the definition of an edge.

Presumably has something to do with https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.129|173.245.48.129]] 04:37, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

What is up with the wolverine? Am I missing a joke here? Possibly a reference somewhere else?

If you are actually an "edgelord", wouldn't you answer "no" anyway to provoke once again? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:40, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

I feel like there should be some discussion of what an edge (or hyper-edge) is in graph theory. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.22|162.158.165.22]] 10:20, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

2036: Edgelord

2018-08-22T10:17:24Z

162.158.165.22: Formalised; Minor grammar & typo fix.

{{comic
| number = 2036
| date = August 22, 2018
| title = Edgelord
| image = edgelord.png
| titletext = If you study graphs in which edges can link more than two nodes, you're more properly called a hyperedgelord.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HYPEREDGELORD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

"Edgelord" is modern slang, often used to refer to someone insultingly. It describes a provocateur, often one with an adolescent mindset and lacking subtlety or restraint. The term derives from the word "edgy", which is used to describe things which are designed to be provocative.

This Comic plays on the fact that Graphs (or, at least, the objects in graphs) have EDGES. Saying someone with a Graph Theory PH.D. is an Edgelord (a master of edges) is somewhat like saying that your cat is a miniature wolverine (because she/he has retractable claws).

Also, Whitehat seems to shout "No", which is ironic, because he seems to be on edge.
Because "edgelord" is perceived as an insult by socially aware adults, Cueball is actually provoking Whitehat, making Cueball the edgelord in this interaction.

The title text makes the same joke, except that the title would be Hyperedgelord (master of Hyperedges) instead of Edgelord (a master of edges that aren't hyperedges)

Humor here also lies in that Cueball, in accusing Whitehat of being an Edgelord, is being provocative himself and therefore somewhat edgy. Similar situational humor is also found in [[2008:_Irony_Definition]]

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and White Hat are standing next to each other and are discussing]
:Cueball: So, I hear you're a real edgelord.
:White Hat: No!
:[Caption below the frame:]
:How to annoy a graph theory Ph.D.

{{comic discussion}}

851: Na

2017-12-24T13:41:48Z

162.158.165.22: /* Explanation */ Correction to Steam (band) link

{{comic
| number = 851
| date = January 24, 2011
| title = Na
| image = na.png
| titletext = I hear that there are actual lyrics later on in Land of 1,000 Dances, but other than the occasional 'I said,' I've never listened long enough to hear any of them.
}}

==Explanation==
The repetition of the syllable "na" is often used to sing a tune without using any of the actual words. While this is normally done to practice or demonstrate a tune, repeated "na"s are also a part of some songs' lyrics, as shown in this comic. Following the various paths of the diagram forms the words of several well-known tunes, with each song branching off after the appropriate number of "na"s.

The top entry refers to the song "{{w|Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye}}," originally recorded by {{w|Steam_(band)|Steam}}. The tune is often sung by the home fans of American sporting events at the end of a victory as a means of taunting the away team.

The left bottom entry refers to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jgE-lrfZ3k theme song] of the '60s TV show ''{{w|Batman (TV series)|Batman}}''.

The middle bottom entry refers to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpFFzWPzA2c theme song] of the video game ''{{w|Katamari Damacy}}, '' which was also the cause of the [[161: Accident|Accident]] in comic 161.

The right bottom entry refers to the song "{{w|Land of a Thousand Dances}}," originally recorded by {{w|Chris Kenner}}. The title text jokes that the tune's incessant repetition of "na" has annoyed [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] to the point that he does not have the patience to listen to the whole song.

Not long after this comic was published, the following message was posted by [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] at the header on the comic page:
:I can't ''believe'' I forgot Hey Jude.
:I don't get do-overs, but I couldn't resist making [https://xkcd.com/851_make_it_better/ a fixed version].

The addition to the diagram refers to the song "{{w|Hey Jude}}," originally recorded by {{w|the Beatles}}. The updated comic's URL, "851_make_it_better," is a reference to some of the tune's other lyrics: "Take a sad song / And '''make it better'''." In the original comic picture "Hey Jude" is still missing. The original comic is also a link to the "make it better" version.

This is one of many {{w|Flowchart|flowchart}} comics. A full list can be found [[:Category:Flowcharts|here]].

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart.]
:Na → Na → Na → Na → Na → Na → Na → Na (branches to "→ Hey → Hey → Goodbye" and "→ Batman!") → Na → Na (branches to "Katamari Damacy!") ['''In fixed version:''' → Na (branches to "→ Hey → Jude") ] → Na (arrow labeled "Land of 1,000 Dances" that loops around to the last "Na" again)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Katamari Damacy]]
[[Category:Video games]]

1815: Flag

2017-03-25T03:54:51Z

162.158.165.22: added "stars and bars" reference

{{comic
| number = 1815
| date = March 24, 2017
| title = Flag
| image = flag.png
| titletext = There's a compromise bill to keep the notification bar but at least charge the battery.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs more detail on how flags and images, in general, are designed/edited using computers, and why what Randall did was wrong.}}

Randall was hired to propose a new flag for an unspecified new country. The process of him editing the flag into its final draft was done on a phone and involved taking a screenshot of the product (possibly a shortcut to avoid actually exporting it) which produced the notification bar at the top of the flag. He did not catch his error and sent it to the committee with the notification bar intact. The design committee also missed the phone bar and approved the design. Although not said, it is implied that the committee then ordered actual flags from the manufacturer. Once the problem was pointed out, the design committee placed the blame on Randall.

The elements of the flag's intended design, the colors red white and blue, the stripes, and the stars, are present in several existing flags for real countries (America, the UK, North Korea, etc.) Flags are often minimalist and involve geometric shapes and solid colors. A notification bar at the top of the flag would clash with these design elements as well as looking unprofessional.

The title text mentions a compromise bill that will change the flag, not removing the notification bar at the top to create the originally intended flag, but instead keeping the notification bar and changing the amount of battery displayed (39%) to 100%. The low battery status might imply that the country is low on resources. Randall has mentioned before that he cannot take screenshots seriously if the battery of the device is low in [[1373: Screenshot]].

This comic is a joke on "vexillology". The comic incorrectly refers to a status bar as "notification bar".

Bar is also a vexillological descriptor, as in the "Stars and Bars," a term used for the first flag of the Confederate States of America.

==Transcript==

:[A picture is shown of a flag for a currently nonexistent country. The left and rightmost parts of the flag are dark blue, and the center is red. These parts of the flag are separated by white vertical stripes. In the center of each colored section of the flag is a large, white star. At the top of the flag, there is a conspicuous off-white notification bar like one you would find at the top of a laptop or phone. On the left it is displaying the strength of a 3G connection (3/5 dots), in the center it is displaying the time (5:43 PM) and on the right, it is displaying battery charge (39%)]
:The design committee fired me once they realized that my editing process involved a screenshot, but it was too late.
:Until they change it, our new country has the only national flag to include a phone notification bar.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

1810: Chat Systems

2017-03-14T01:33:21Z

162.158.165.22: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1810
| date = March 13, 2017
| title = Chat Systems
| image = chat_systems.png
| titletext = I'm one of the few Instagram users who connects solely through the Unix 'talk' gateway.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fill in the table and explain the title text. The main purpose of an euler diagram needs to be explained. (E.g. BBM in eMail; WhatsApp in eMail and SMS)}}
In the world of social media, connecting to and communicating with friends, relatives, and other acquaintances can be extremely easy, but due to the large amount of networks and systems through which to communicate, and the selective nature of the people using them, it can be difficult to keep track of who uses which system(s), and thus, communication can be more complicated by social media as well.

;Chat systems mentioned
{| class="wikitable"
!System
!Number of people in group
!Explanation
|-
| {{w|Email}}
|35
|A popular form of electronic communication that saw first widespread use in the 1960s. It allows you to send electronic "letters" to people using pre-exchanged email addresses. Many people use this platform, hence the large size of the corresponding circle.
|-
| {{w|SMS}}
|39
|Short Message System; a text-based messaging system connecting most worldwide phone systems that had its beginnings in the 1980s and has since represented the most common form of data transmission for most people. It is principally used to send short text messages between mobile phones, but most phone carriers provide facilities to send-to-email or send-to-voice (for use with landline phones). Most major phone carriers also provide support for email-to-SMS.
|-
| {{w|Hangouts}}
|9
|Google Hangouts is Google's instant messaging system. It can be used to share data and for video chat.
|-
| {{w|Signal_(software)|Signal}}
|8
| An app used for encrypted communications.
|-
| {{w|iMessage}}
|6
|Apple's SMS service
|-
| {{w|IRC}}
|5
|Internet Relay Chat is an old chat system which many people refuse to switch off of.
|-
| {{w|Slack_(software)|Slack}}
|5
|A team instant messaging service
|-
| {{w|Twitter|Twitter DM}}
|4
| "Direct messages" between users on Twitter.
|-
| {{w|AIM}}
|2
|AOL Instant Messaging service; a popular messaging system from the 1990s that suffered a severe decline in 2005 upon the release of Gmail and Google Chat. It is based on the closed source OSCAR protocol, but AOL created the TOC/TOC2 protocol specifications, and made specifications openly available, for third parties to connect to their service. There have been short-lived dalliances with other protocols since 2008; it has never had direct support for the other widely used protocols here.
|-
|The "chat" tab in an old {{w|Google Doc}}
|2
|Google Docs is an online word processor reminiscent of Microsoft Word. One of the notable features is online collaborative editing, with a rudimentary chat feature for communication. Randall apparently communicates with someone using the chat in an old Google Doc.
|-
| {{w|Facebook_Messenger|FB Messenger}}
|2
|Facebook's chat system.
|-
| {{w|Instagram|Instagram DM}}
|2
|Direct Messaging, a feature of Instagram that allows users to post personal messages to each other.
|-
|{{w|Peach_(social_network)|Peach}}
|2
|Peach is a mobile-based social network introduced in January 2016.
|-
| Telegram
|2
|Could refer to a cloud based instant messaging system by this name ({{w|Telegram (software)|Telegram}}), or to actually sending messages using {{w|telegrams}}. Telegrams were messages sent by electric telegraphy, which were often typed out and hand-delivered to the recipient. This was the first system for rapid communication across long distances that was widely available, originally developed in the 19th century. Naturally, telegraphy is now wildly obsolete (though some local services apparently do still exist) which would explain why Munroe communicates with so few people that way.
|-
| {{w|Skype}}
|2
|Microsoft's chat client. It offers VoIP video and audio calls, instant messaging and phoning from within the app.
|-
| {{w|WhatsApp}}
|2
|Billed as encrypted end-to-end chat, allows VoIP chats, text chats, video and image sharing. Caters for group chat as well.
|-
| {{w|WeChat}}
|2
| Started off as a Chinese WhatsApp imitation. WeChat has become a full scale social media with its own news, games and payment system.
|-
|{{w|Apache_HTTP_Server|Apache}} Request {{w|Server_log|Log}}
|1
|A file used by Apache HTML server to log page access requests by users, usually stored as access_log. Its use as a communications tool would require the user to embed their messages in URLs and the admin to look for the messages in the logs. It would be inconvenient and time consuming for both parties.
|-
| {{w|BlackBerry Messenger|BBM}}
|1
|Blackberry message. A chat system available on {{w|BlackBerry}} phones, now largely obsolete.
|-
| {{w|Snapchat}}
|1
|Snapchat is an image messaging app.
|-
|Wall (bathroom)
|1
|Apparently a chat system based around writing on the wall in the bathroom. Not an electronic system. Leaving messages on public bathroom walls is a common form of {{w|graffiti}}. It may be used as a support for anonymous conversations. Alternatively, this could mean the person is an extreme introvert, and hides in his bathroom instead of interacting with others, by talking through the wall. It could also be a pun on "communicating through _____" as a bathroom wall is a physical object rather than an interface. It could also refer to someone who has a habit of talking through the wall to people in adjacent stalls of a public bathroom.
|-
|{{w|Wall (Unix)}}
|1
|Short for "write all", the "wall" command copies its argument to every user logged into the same Unix system, and so can be used as a primitive chat system.
|-
| {{w|Zephyr (protocol)}}
|1
| Zephyr was designed as an instant messaging protocol and application-suite with a heavy Unix background.
|-
| {{w|ICQ}}
|1
|An older open-source instant messaging application.
|-
|{{w|Talk_(software)|Unix 'talk'}}
|*
|This is in the title text, and the only user is Munroe. Old peer-to-peer chat system whereby users logged into the same UNIX system could privately communicate with each other in a full-screen interface.
|}

;Related comics
*The ubiquity of standards - here, of messaging systems - was already covered in [[927: Standards]]
*For IRC see also [[1782: Team Chat]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[An Euler diagram with many circle like drawings for various chat systems is shown. Some circles overlapping others in complicated ways, others are single circles with no connections, but most are embedded into others.]


:[Caption below the frame:]
:I have a hard time keeping track of which contacts use which chat systems.

{{comic discussion}}

1067: Pressures

2017-03-03T01:40:00Z

162.158.165.22: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1067
| date = June 11, 2012
| title = Pressures
| image = pressures.png
| titletext = Everyone's caught by surprise when a theory of quantum gravity is developed by a sound technician wearing patent leather shoes while editing Clerks II.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to revolutionary physicist {{w|Albert Einstein}}, who got his first big ideas about physics while he was working as a Swiss patent clerk. Hence, Randall jokes that there is pressure on other Swiss patent clerks to come up with genius ideas while they are working there. The Zen Pencil comic [http://zenpencils.com/comic/einstein/ "Albert Einstein: Life is a mystery"] gives some background about Einstein's choice to work at the Swiss patent office. The fact that he was turned down by several universities was beneficial to the science of physics, as the duties as a patent clerk were not challenging to him, paid enough, and allowed him to work on his theories without any ''pressures''.

The title text refers to {{w|quantum gravity}}, a highly anticipated theory that would unify quantum mechanics with the current model of gravity, general relativity. Such a theory would be very useful to understanding how space behaves at high energies and high densities, such as black holes and the very early universe. The joke is that instead of a patent clerk making this theory, as everyone is supposedly expecting, it's instead made by a sound technician (possibly inserting a "swish" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnPRUCAJcwk sound effect]) wearing "patent" leather shoes and working on a movie called "Clerks" II, thereby suggesting that anytime something called a "patent" crosses with anything called a "clerk", radical breakthroughs in physics result. {{w|Clerks II}} is the second movie in the Clerks series by Kevin Smith, widely regarded as not nearly as good as the first — which could be said about most sequels, but you get the point.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail walks up to Megan examining documents]
:Ponytail: So... what've you been up to?
:Megan: Handling patent applications.
:Ponytail: Yeah, but... besides that?
:Megan: That's about it.
:Ponytail: You're not, like, thinking about any cool stuff? Just curious.

:For the last hundred years, Swiss patent clerks have been under some weird pressures.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]